And be sure to check out other episodes of TED’s original 8-part video series “Big Thing, Small Idea” to learn about the everyday objects that have transformed our experience — from how the button changed fashion to how the hyperlink laid the groundwork for our modern connected world.

ABOUT THE AUTHORKate Torgovnick May is a writer at TED.com. She can also solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than two minutes. Read more about her work at KateTorgovnickMay.com. This piece was adapted for TED-Ed from this Ideas article.